Of what does politics consist except the making of imperfect decisions, many of them unjust and quite a few of them deadly?
Lewis H. LaphamRead
Under the rules of a society that cannot distinguish between profit and profiteering, between money defined as necessity and money defined as luxury, murder is occasionally obligatory and always permissible.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Society's confusion between necessity and greed can lead to ethical compromises and violence.
This quote by Lewis H. Lapham suggests that when a society fails to recognize the difference between essential needs and excessive desires, it can create moral ambiguities where extreme actions, such as violence, become justified. The juxtaposition of profit versus profiteering reflects the ethical dilemmas individuals face in a consumerist culture, indicating that moral clarity is often lost in the pursuit of wealth.
Themes
SocietyProfitEthicsViolenceNecessityLuxury
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about corporate responsibility, one might use this quote to highlight the moral responsibilities of businesses.
More from Lewis H. Lapham
All quotes βA society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of its business, cannot help making celebrities of the people who would destroy it.
Lewis H. LaphamRead
Similar quotes
Though leaves are many, the root is one; Through all the lying days of my youth I swayed my leaves and flowers in the sun Now I may wither into the truth.
William Butler YeatsRead
Peace, peace! he is not dead, he doth not sleep - he hath awakened from the dream of life - 'Tis we, who lost in stormy visions, keep with phantoms an unprofitable strife.
Percy Bysshe ShelleyRead
Nobody can tell what I suffer! But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied.
Jane AustenRead
Wasn't he the one who said you shouldn't trust anybody who calls himself an ordinar man? - Naoko
Haruki MurakamiRead
Once we are self-aware, we must choose purposes and principles to live by; otherwise the vacuum will be filled, and we will lose our self-awareness and become like groveling animals who live primarily for survival and propagation. People who exist on that level aren't living; they are "being lived".
Stephen CoveyRead
Anyhow, I don't think Don King's a very good man. But then again, I doubt that a good man *could* succeed in his business. I'm sure boxing was a dirty sport before he came around. He may have just made it moreso. So that's about all I've got to say about him.
Muhammad AliRead